Just curious, with all the news of the economy and the way it has affected our lives, how are you talking to your children about what's going on in the US? Has the economic crisis affected your state of mind or mood? Have you found creative ways to get your children involved in the presidential election, or do you tend to try to "protect them" from politics in general?
Don't know about you, but I'm finding this a more and more challenging time in which to be raising children.......
Hi everyone - keep 'em coming! Your replies, that is. They've been interesting and informative. I often go months in between visits to Mamasource, so please don't be offended if I don't get back to you personally. It's great to see the way you all are involving your kids. I showed the cartoon LouAnn mentioned to my kids. It can be found here: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5915403 Thanks again, LouAnn. It facilitated a great ongoing discussion with my children about the economy and global economics in general. Thanks also, Amanda , for mentioning O'Reilly's book.
Although my children are in public schools, I'm a homeschooler at heart. Like many of you, I don't keep them sheltered from "the real world" and we discuss most everything openly. I'm of the generation that encourages them to develop their own opinions, whether or not they diverge from mine. And I've always tried to live (and therefore, model for them) in a way that incorporates my spiritual leanings into my daily life, including politics. The two often seem mutually exclusive, but to me, that seems like all the more reason to try!
Carry on, y'all! It's great to know you're out there, doing your "thing" with your children in the ways you've determined to be best for you. Keep sharing your ideas, for as our children grow, their questions about this world we live in can only become more complex. I find it easier to answer complex questions when I've had stimulating conversation to help me think, so I thank you all!
I haven't talked to my son (8) about the economy but we do talk about the election. I took him with me to vote for the primaries and he will go with me for the big one in November. I want him to understand the improtance of having his say in who runs this country.
With my middle school age daughter and high school age son I tell them the truth. I do it in developmentally appropriate language and I answer what they ask--no more, no less. They tend to only ask what they are old enough to understand the answer to. They talk about politics, the economy, etc in school and I don't want the only opinion on things that they hear to be their teacher's opinion.
As for the economy I have been telling my children that when the economy is in a recession we all need to tighten our belts a little and save more money. I tell them that means that we eat at home more and eat out less. We don't make wasted trips in the car to conserve gas. We buy less treats at the grocery store and less new clothes and toys for them. I tell them that we are very blessed to have mom and dad both working and we need to pray for poor families that have a parent out of work and are struggling during this recession. I tell them that we need to pray for our country's leaders to make good choices about the economy and for the best person to be elected as the next president.
This is a good question. My kids are very involved in the presidential election. Before our state primary I bought each a t-shirt for our chosen candidate--they're as convinced as I am, or even more so. We've watched the debates together and, if I find that our candidate is giving a speech we can watch online, I let them know. Sometimes they huddle around my laptop to watch and listen. I've also taken a couple of my kids canvassing with me.
My youngest is 13, and I've tried to gently tell him about the financial crisis. When he asks me to buy X, Y, or Z I tell him that we need to be more careful in spending our money because I'm not sure what will happen. He doesn't understand that part, but he accepts that he can't have what he always wants--I've always raised my kids to accept that, anyway.
We just had a holiday (I'm a Muslim) and this year I lowered the amount I would spend on each kid. They still got what they really wanted though. They just had to prioritize. And I didn't buy any DVDs, as I usually do, but yesterday we made a run to Blockbuster and the library (which has rental movies for a dollar). That was good enough.
The most important thing you can do, I think, is to talk to your kids. And because you have older stepdaughters, I'm sure you're very much in tune with age-appropriate discussion. If in doubt, I think you should ask them. They were kids not too long ago and I bet they remember.
Dear A.,
I have a 13-yr old and a 10-yr-old, so I know exactly what you're talking about. The kids hear plenty about these topics in school, so you're going to get questions about it. I think that "honesty is the best policy" in this department even though it is going to be a little biased by the parent's opinion. My children have had a lot more questions about how the election process works, as opposed to questions about the candidates. These are much easier to explain. My 10 year old did write in a school paper that she was voting for John McCain because "he is not a butthead" which I found hilarious because this is not something she repeated from her parents. (We don't use that word.) They will have their own opinions and they should. My husband tends to want them to agree with him, but I think they are old enough to think for themselves. I think you should try to present the facts as calmly and objectively as you can and leave it at that. Hope that they are adopting your values and will make good decisions. As for the economy.....we have started letting the kids know how much things cost, utilities, etc. without getting too much into how much their dad makes. We let them know that we are OK, but that everyone has to live within a budget and not spend what they don't have. We are teaching them that it is important to save money for the things you want to buy and to just save for an emergency. I think children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for and if you are honest with them, they understand quite a bit. Hope this helps. Good luck! L.
What a great question!! I have one son who just started college, one who just started middle school and one that just started kindergarten, so we are all over the map in discussion. First, I will tell you that "protecting" them is not an option for us. They need the life skills to handle this and if I can break something down to make it age appropriate I will. With the mess they are "learning" in public school today we owe it to them to instill balance in thought, and the value and virtues we ourselves live by. Having said that, my family use to home school and while we did not shelter them from the world and its views, we did, and still do pretty much, strongly teach them from our own belief system. BUT, we have learned that it is not healthy teach them so staunchly that do not show grace. This is incredibly important when it comes to politics. I want them to know WHY we believe what we believe and to not be blind to the value of what someone else may believe. Be respectful always. We have even faced vastly different politcal beliefs in our church and this surprised me. I have learned to listen and not force my opinion. Wasn't easy at first, but I'm learning and teaching my boys to do the same. As for the economic crisis, yesterday on ABC's World News Tonight they had a little cartoon that explained the economy and why this is happening and it was amazing! My 11 year old GOT IT!! We were very honest with our kids about how this is effecting us because my husband was laid off in July, my business as a realtor has almost stopped and my college son can't even find a stinking "pizza" job! We are in a great area, but we stand to lose our home if something doesn't give. It's scary, but they have to know that this could really hurt us and they have to help be a part of the solution for our family. It is challenging, but it's also a great opportunity to instill some strength of belief in our children so they hopefully won't make the same mistakes.
Our oldest is a 13 yr old boy. He gets up a little before me and turns on Good Morning America. We have had discussions about the economy. I feel on things like this we are upfront and honest vs. sex education is in smaller steps. My Husband and I personally feel being realistic with the kids about these kinds of things only helps them when they get older to understand the world we live in.
Luckily my Husbands job has not been affected by this but we have been tighter on our budget, we have 5 children all together and I stay at home. So when the kids have wanted something we talk about it's not in our budget but let's count your current money and see how much you need and we save to reach this goal.
I hope this helps because I do understand the desire to protect your children and cautious of what you say and at what age.
A.,
We homeschool so everything is a learning opportunity but often in a fun way. Now my DD is almost 6 so how I present things needs to be on her level but they understand more than we realize and I know this by the questions she asks.
We have talked about the election and what our family believes to be in our best interest and that there are others that believe differently but we must respect one another.
It is great that we have a choice as in some countries there are no choices to be made. We have learned a lot about elections and how they are held, she has gone with me to vote and a season or two ago they actually had a mock children's area where they could vote, kinda cool so this way the children will know that it is a privilege to vote.
On 9/11 we talked about why it happened and that is why the war is going on. We looked at all the things on the internet that made commemoration to those who died that day and all of the hero's that help keep our country free.
We just talk about it all. I think so many people don't vote as they don't have that sense of pride of being an American. I personally want my DD to have that pride no matter what party she decides to favor after all we are one big family... despite our differences.
.
I know everythhing is so controversial, but the best way for our divided country to come together is by healthy conversations, not bullying and belittling others opinions. A good book for this age group is Kids Are Americans Too. You should always preview books first and it is by Bill O'Reilly, but it has been at the top of the New York's Best Seller List for a long time. I hope it works for your family.
Amanda
Hi A.. My kids are 5 and 3 and we are always open about what is going on with us financially. They are told when we can't afford something as oppossed to when I just don't want them to have something. They both get an allowance and we use that to show how much something costs, for example, the happy meal at McDonalds will cost you two weeks of allowance....think of how much work that is. If they want something at the grocery store many times my son will pick up the store brand and ask if he can have it because it is cheaper than the other brand! LOL! They know about the household bills--not dollar amounts--but that they exist and must be paid before we can spend money on other things.
Now I realize they would not understand exactly what is going on with the economy as a whole but if they hear something on t.v. and ask about it, we try and give an answer they will understand----and they have both asked questions about the election: who's that? what are they doing? and my favorite- Is that man trying to get a job?-that was the 3 yr.old-- I believe we need to give kids more credit than we do, and I think you can let a child know what is going on in a way that lets them know that they are safe and that the most important thing is family. I've seen my niece (9) more scared because she hadn't been told of anything going on but kept hearing how people were losing their homes and thought they would lose theirs too. She was worried that they wouldn't have any place to stay and her parents explained that they were fine and they wouldn't have to leave her home or friends.
As far as it affecting us, we have tightened our belts some and we are saving a few dollars each trip to the store to put towards food and Christmas gifts for families who have lost their jobs and homes. With the hurricanes, and economy more people are going to need help and less people are going to be able to. For me, I find the best way to let this affect me is to think about it has affected others.
Peace
Hi A.,
First let me congratulate you on raising adult children...then starting over!!!!Yes these are trying times and difficult...however I do not worry my kids about this election...I have a 11 and 9 yrs. yes they hear things in school and we discuss our family politics/position. I try to explain in simple terms each party's position...of course...our family's party will prevail...However, I do not stress them out w/the specifics of a recession...or banks going broke etc....We pray together and keep going...I try to be as positive as possible, always...and stay prayed up....that's all any of us can really do.....I hope this helps..
VMitchell
Memphis
Hi A.!
I am also a mother of a "blended" family. Children ages 18 & 19 (both have moved out) stepdaughter in 7th grade (age 12) and daughter in 5th grade. I've found politics have been a real problem in our house. It seems that the middle school my stepdaughter goes to has her believing OBAMA is the ONLY one running for president. And my son (age 19) is in the Army National Guard believes the opposite. So yeah..Politics and talking about the statistics have been very stressful. I'm having a hard time getting my own views across.
